In 2005 it was estimated that about $2 billion would be invested during the next three to five years in the Barbados tourism sector, which included the construction or refurbishment of 2,000 hotel rooms.

In July Standard & Poor’s revised its outlook on Barbados’s long-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit rating, lowering it to negative from stable because of rising external pressures due to high current-account deficits. An increase in mostly short-term external debt was also a factor in the decision.

In an unusual act for a politician, Prime Minister Owen Arthur decided in August not to accept a 20% pay raise, which formed part of an overall increase for public officers endorsed by the parliament. The increase amounted to the equivalent of $16,565 a year. Arthur said that he would return the money to the treasury as a grant. Some other government ministers and MPs later indicated that they might follow Arthur’s lead. In October the parliament approved a bill that allowed for a referendum to determine if Barbados should become a republic.

In an effort to make the country’s Grantley Adams International Airport the tourism hub of the Caribbean, Barbados neared completion on a major expansion and renovation project. The upgraded airport would be capable of accommodating about 2,000 passengers an hour. In the first four months of 2005, long-staying visitors to Barbados rose by 1.3%.